Design for a 600 Ton
Beet -Sugar Factory
F. G. Heuchling
19 0 7
ARMOUR
INST. OFTECH. LIB,
CHICAGO.
Illinois Institute
of Technology
Libraries
AT 7 5
Heuchling, Frederick Gustav
Design and arrangement of
machinery for a 600 ton
lESIGlSr and ARRMGETffiKT of UACJinim:!
FOR A ^■^ 6v
600 TQtT BEET -SUGAR EACTORY
A THESIS
Presented "by
EREUERICK GUSTAV EEUCHLING
to the
President and Faculty of
ARMOUR INSTITUTE of TECHNOLOGY
Eor the degree of
Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering
Having completed the prescrihed course
of study in ChemiCE,l Engineering
1907
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IKTROrtUCTIOIT.
It is no Icng'er necessary to begin writings relet ing to the
"beet-sugar industry with statistics shewing the importajice of
the enterprise, Beet-sug?.r is an established article of com-
merce and figures are nc longer needed to impress the ma.gnitude
of its manufacture upon the proletariat. Each year v?itnesses
the opening of several new factories in this country, to say
nothing of the steady progress of foreign manufacture.
In no other industrial process are the phenomena of chemistry
more closely linked with the principles of m.achinery and of
engineering, as they are in the manufacture of si;igar from the
sugar beet. These facts render the subject valuable and interest-
ing to one who aims to become a chemical engineer, a/nd led to
the choice of the sugar-beet a.s the topic for this thesis.
)Phen it is desired to construct a beet-sugar factory of
specified daily capacity, in a certain vicinity, it becomes
necessary to prepare preliminary designs of the surroimdings,
the buildings, and the a.rrangement of ma-chinery. This necessity
arises when contracts for the buildings and machinery are let
to the architects and manufacturers. The type, size, and capacity
of each building and piece of apparatus must be specified in
these contracts. The problem resolves itself, then, into one
which is entirely analogous to the design of a power plant;
requiring, however-, less attention to detail than the latter.
As the mechanical engineer must decide as to the type and size
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of the engines, condensers, and other a.ccessories of a power
plant, so must the chemical engineer decide as to the size of
carhonation tanks, the capacity of the multiple effect, and
much other data concerning the appliajices used in the extrac-
tion of sugar from the sugar beet.
With this in view it was deemed T;innecessary to go into
detail in the design of filters, pumps, condensers, and such
appliances as are to he found in nearly all mills and factories,
and whose individua-1 characteristics are or secondary importance.
This pap^r is not presented as a description of the process of
Tseet-sugar ma,nufacture and the many principles underlying it.
A suhjeat of such broad scope v^culd require the shliity and
authority'- of sn expert. Only such details of the method of
operation are here given a,E have an influence upon the con-
struction and arrangement of plant.
The writer Vifishes to acknowledge his gratitude to Prof.
L. C. Monin for his aid in the a.rrangement of this paper.
Among the mass of literature consulted, the work of Louis S,
Ware, "Beet-sugar Manufa.cture and Refining", and that of
H, Claassen, "Beet-sugar Manufacture" were of signal impor-
tance. For information of a practical character the writer
is especially indebted to MR. Fra-nklin M, de Beers of the
American Toimdry and Machinery Company.
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SI'CTiniT 1
03-'tion of Plant ?a'ri Pre^ iiriinarj/- Arrrr4:er:.ents end Precautions:
When the "ouil^in?^ cf ? be^t-EiA^ar f-.otcry is oont ei'iiplated
tiie selection of a sui'Cible site is of f'rinie iiroortr:- :'e. The
pr oii-iCucrE of the enter,. rise nrasu ce assured, of the eo-o;o^rpt ion
of the f.^rners. Per this re^'son che plant shcui:. he loca.ved in
a farir.ing: ocrmvonizy, cf £uit.c-hle ■;lir;ate, rather f-an ir a l'^r?;e
torr. . Ir. .crdsr to do a'/.T-.^ rith the expense of r^^ ilroa;. frei^i.ht
upon the pre-ter p^rt cf the hects re^^eived sx the factor/, C-n-
ursctc' should be ir. de' vith the farmers of the nel«rhhorhood f:r
the raising of sncugh hects to r^xr. 'clie factory- at its full ra^ed
oa.oi:2±:.y for not less than one hundred days of e'ch se-son.
Railroad ooL-iiiUi'^icaoion is also an iir^poriiynt ri.adter cc ":e
considered. Parse oj.wntitios cf r.'.f t eric.ls are used ir: the hes:-
sugar Ziiox cry , J.nd the ^reet^r _ ?.rt cf these are re-^eire:" over
the r? i Ir "■:"._■'. . Cor sequent I7 a red'.io& ion in freif,hb r:.:-i:es ii.eans
great savin?: to the £ur?r manufacturer.
The natural resciirces cf a ooT:iLVT.ity ir-us'i: noo he ignored
in choosing a sice fcr che factor:,*-. ■''■• "ler':i-"ul aup-r-lj 'f -■-^n'-e
-•-' -ter is rhsclutel7 essenoi^^l. Sol\'Vle s'lts h'"ve a very dele-
terious effect u^:on the •::r/stalli:of.t ici' processes carried on
during- s^ip^r e^tr'cclcn, ""-n^ s^'-c ■->]-". thcre-^cre he prerented from
entering the juices, in ajiy consi.'era"':le qurnti':/, t]-rou^h the
rat er-su.-n-nly. A cheat) su^^-'l"' cf vre liiuestone, sceaL-. ccc-....
I
ineoaljurgioal oolre -re necess'.r-r. The limestone shcv.ld?. oorJirir.
et le&st S5y. of oalciuxfi ca.rbui:J;.t e , c.s "uhe prc^^ence of L^cre 'iL-an
5/i. of icvuriwies renders the buniing expensive and yielf.s r. poor
qu-litv of lirre for zlne epirrr.tion of che juioeE.
u'raiger.ienu of Yards snC. Bv.iZ.dir.gs; Eandlir.'- of Beets, Coc"l, Coke r-nd
L ime s t on e rh en ?. e :; c i red :
The arraugenjeni -f yards cind buildings c.t the plant is repre-
sented on ?la.te 1 of ohe '-.ooon.pB^nying drc"-in?^-s. A sp^ir froK f'_e
railro.-',d, or railrorids, is rur. oast the general offioe buildinr ,
Y-here all incoming cr-rs may be inspected and reighed on Che ■craoh-
scales provided. A v:r^on ro^d en-ors the jrrds at the bscl:: of
the offices and '.'.'agon -scales rre b-jilt at this en'cranve.
"Sien beets arrive ::.z the factorjr in railrond cars, the l?-':er
c'ft'r being T-eip-:hed, are dram to the s".*icches and svitched inoo
che beet storare house. The cur/es into the store-hcufe rre
graded, since the uO_^;. of tie in store-house is l.'^:^t . fbove the
the grovaid level. This ~rading m?y readily be accoi..i.lished ■.•-ith
the earth".orlc excavated during the construction of ihe various
builc'.ings. The -cars 'are lailoaded by h.:-nd a^id drav^n out ax. the
farther enc. of the beet store-h:use, vhere they pass over a
second trade-scales cc be ".'eighed er;p/ty. The tare due co dire
04'id le:-7es upon the beets is ohoained by taking s sample at the
?es.
Bse"cs rrri.'ing in v^-gons e.re sa;npled and ".veijhed :."t the
offices. The ■^■a=^:ons :'ri'''e into p.ny designated entrance zo the
beet store-house and unloc;^. fro:ii thrt respective pl?:form. The
empty v:agons are then -Triven cut r;t the f-rther end tc he rei^?-^h
\71jen cofil, coke, or lir/iestone -re reoeir^.d. , the rc.ilro: ■:'. ?.c:-
are reip'hed, r.s usual, at the office, an^. or^."^: -.round ihe curve,
past i:he si^gar store-house and "round vhe second curve to bhe "bir.
at tl:e po-'-er-house or liine-hiln. ^he eiiipty oars ciien piss .n - c
■;hc trc ch-~cales ?.t the recr of the heet store-hcuie for «he c;re
weight .
Su^ar Storage
The S'Jgar finished in .the suo; "r-hcuee , is ccnv"e7e'" ""'7 ■?
spir?l conveyer tc the s-iMir-r s-ore-hcu^e. Here re is jeicked for
shipirent 'yf :he h-'-rels 3tj:c]'e(;, one ■■•ron the oiher, v:p to che
roof. If the fact ory h-..ndles 500 tons of ceeos per dciy, ax. le.
- 50 -cons of vrhite su^'-r -ill ":e proou ■'ed e--ch day. The store-.,
house should he -^appole of holding nearly the enoire sec^son 's
product, or o'bcul; 3,000 tens. At 350 Ihs. to the harrel , this
V'ould he approximately 40,000 ols. A3SU;.ung ^^ spoce of 7 cu.
ft. tc store one h-rrel , the house must hove r storage cap^oi:;
of 230,000 cu. f . . If ohe harrels -re stacked to a h^i-ht of
20 f 0 . , the floor area required 'ill he 14,000 Hr_. _f u . or
100' X 140'. Allc-ring for packing iriachino:S, aisles, etc., the
huilding'-ill need to he 100' X LOO'. I'i may he huilt of ^on-
er "jte end. steel, or of hrick-rork, as may orove most economical
Storage of Beets anol Trrn sport?.'; ion tc factory.
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The heet store-house and occoosories <3r© re "resenisd ui-on
ric^te 2 of a::ooinpan3''ing drevrinjrs . Beets prrivim on rai?urc?'A
OSJ
cars are unloaded froxn the ^hree oraoks ,.ro/id6d. 'Eo.rin ■.vagons
may ixoload frcir. ~ny cf ilie ee-Tcn plF/bforms shc^-'n. The "beet sccre-
house should be capalole of a.ccoirjnodating at least r. montl' ' s
supply of ':eets. The etcre-house 3hc-.n ]iere has a c?.pa.ci'C/ of
20,000 tons or 33 day^ sup-oly of oeets. This T/as fig^ju^ed upon
the assumption, taken from the 'vrioinj^s of Claassen, that a ton
of "beets occupy 1.3 cuhic n:eters, or 2.55 cu. yds. The heets
are supposed to he piled to ■^. hei-rht of 12ft. from the tops of
flumes.
The hoc torn of the store-house is ridged, as shoa-n, to
fa-oilitate suhseqvent disposal of the heets. Bet'^een the ridges
are huilt ooncrete fli'mes. A detailed section of flvras is shorn
on Pla.te 2, v.ith the ftrm used in its conscruocion arid the wood-
en lsttice-'"ork -hick aovers it ahen heets are filled into the
shed. The ^ivooden lattice-v:ork is rr.ade in se rations 4ft. in len?:t!-. ,
with a ^"rou^^at iron rod att?",ched to each seoticn. T.h.en all the
lattice-'"aork ia do-n these rods -ill 0T:"rla-i, and the last ro.'
a'ill extend heyond che superincuarhent heecs. '^len it is desired
to send heets to the su"iar-ko"ce t?-e 1' st section of lac,tice is
a:ithdra\-.n oy pullir^ on the extended red. The beets then faJ.l
into the flijuxe and expose :he next rod vhich is used to remove the
next Is.ttice, and so on.
The heets f-lD-in.?: into the fluu.^e strike the --ater floving
in it. The a-ater used as the iDonTOyor is usually oon;'ensed
TP.ter or other '-rste from the saggar-house , .and is usually
l\3ke-'"s/rm. Iz enters die beeo sc ore -house at the hzok thro\i."l;
pipes from the po^-'er house. Tre fli;rnes h'iLve a. slope of .05 i::.
to the foot anO. thus oe-u.se the '.'■-ter to flc--. T>e flumes S:iould
) he Icept st least half full "hen in use. A;; bcuh inC.s of the
store-house rates are proriled to fsoilitate shutting off indi-
yic.ual f lurnes .
Dirt and stones 3/re found in aJoundance airionr the 'i^^-ets.
These ?.re carried along en the hot c err. of uhe flLu.es end Vv-ould
find their vra.-- into the s \-!p: ? r-h c u.s e if not proTi''-ed for. An
a.ppli£nce to remove uhe stones and soil v/hich find their tp.j
in"0 0 the fluir^e is detailed u-:on Place 2. Ad the encranoe of
the flujne to "che sugar-house , an exoayaoion is made, 'ond lined
-I'ith conore'te. It. covered rich a oast iron .'^ra'oing -rhich jii-e-
T
vents heets vd.ioh im.y sinlc fro^ falling into the c-vity helo\v.
This ,crrate n:3.Y loe 5.ropped "oy lifting a wsigho aooaohed to a^
tape-line ahove. T':e c'.eposit e-:'^ refuse then falls ol-.rcu-a. ar,C.
is removed oy a helical conveyor, to Toe finally dropped into
an a":a it ins "b ^ r r o^'.r .
Pipes and Conduius:
The lime-kiln musi: he connected to the gas-punp in the
poT;er-h:use, and the latter, in its turn, must "be connected _. ■ '
'oy
suitable uipe to the car'-onation tanks in the- sugar-hou.se.,
The lime tank in the kiln-house is c en p ::ed 'rith uhe def eca-cing
tank in the sugar-house T:y means cf a pipe suitalole for carry-
ing: lime-Vv-at er. Steam pipes or conluioS m.ust lead from che
Tne various machines in :he £Uita,r-
hoiise vYiioh. requ.iro high-pressure steajri. Pipes carrying the
exhc'ust H-ceam from che engines
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mult iple-effe ^i: , strike-pa-n , etc. ir. eu£:£ir-hcuse must also be
prcYid.ed.
W Ia-^
Section "
The Pre.parawion of Lin;e and Car^Donic Aoid Gas:
The -rrocess of 'ourning li:T.estci-e and pro-luoln'^ lirne ?',nd
car'ocn dioxide has a greao influer:0£ upon ihe man ufa ■; cure of
^eet-sv^p.-- , s-.me these materials are the greabect e^sencials
in the ep'jjraticn of ohe juices. ?or this reason tlie f aot or;--
must he equipned ^"'ith the Y:?ry best aippliances neoe -sax'y in
production of a pure milh of ?.iir.e an-'' c- gas containing at Isa^t
25/v of carbon dioxiv_e and carrying no dirst or su.s tended particles.
In "'arni climates ohe liiv.ekiln had besc he si\:u:"ted i:\ "Ohe
open air, -fhere the '^rorkmen '.-.ill not b?- endangere? ''oy the eTolred
gases. In cole' cliir.a:es hcvi'ev^r, it becomes necessar;
sccnce the li:..9hiln in he 1:1s in;?;, ■particularly'- as che vcrh
mostly done during whe v: inter moviths.
The Kiln-Kouse:
The limelciln is sitr^ated in a. brlch structure beside o'e
^o"'er-ho-Tse. The kiln-h-i-se and its contents are detailed on
Plate 3. lTear?i-7 the entire space in the kiln-h Mse is ocouied
by the limekiln. A supporting floor for the gas-'-asher must be
built ft a height of £2f c . from the gro;5nd. The kiln-hc^se -ill
hsve concrete four ".at ions e.nd a concrete floor. The floor be-
nes.th the lime-kiln must be at lea t 3ft. thick in order to safe-
ly b-ar the load of lim.e and kiln. If the jTro-md is especially
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soft, it may be necessary to drive piles beneath the kiln.
The Limekiln:
For the purpose of determining the sire of limekiln required
for a beet-sugar factory, it is necessary to refer to practice.
The limekiln here shown is of the Belgian type , wherein fuel and
limestone are mixed and burned together. The materials are fed
in at the top and the burned lime is ^.-ithdrevn below. A kiln of
this type, when properly managed, will produce 850 lbs. of lime
per day, per cu. yd. capacity. For proper epuration of the juices,
experience shows that 31bs. of limestone are required per 100 lbs.
of beets sliced. The factory will then require (.03 X 600=) 18
tons of lime per day. To provide for unforeseen circumstances ths
kiln had best be made to produce 20 tons, or 40,000 lbs. , of
lime per day. The capacity of the kiln must then be (40,000r-850)<?/^)ti
or about 1280 cu. ft. The height may be made from 30 to 60 ft. to
afford good working. The kiln here shO'^m, when filled to the
gas pipes, ^rhich is higher than the materials should be during
normal working, has a capacity of about 1350 cu. ft.
The kiln should be constructed of boiler-plate, lined with
fire-brick and cinders to a thickness of 12 in. The cinders are
packed between the fire-brick and the steel casing and prove to
be an excellent non-conductor of heat. After each season, when
the kiln is shut down, the lining should be carefully repaired I
to prevent the necessity of shutting down while the fnctory is
in operation. The weiprht of the kiln is supported by four
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short sbruts at the TDOttom, and by four coIiiebs which eittend
upward 12 ft. from the ground. Heavy cast-iron rings afford
proper bearings on "both struts and columns. In order that part
of the lime ma,y not collect on the floor in the center, helow
the kiln, a conical projection, covered with boiler-plate, is
built on the floor at this place. This causes the lixe to roll
well out around the kiln so that it may easily be shovelled up
.by the workmen.
The limestone and coke are stored in bins beside the rail-
road tra.ck, just outside the kiln-house wall. Openings in this
wall allow the limestone and coke to be shovelled directly from
the bins. If it is necessary to break up either of these ma.ter-
«
ials, ample room is provided for such operations on the ground
floor. It is not found profitable to use mechanical crushers
for this purpose, since the capital invested is not offset by
the small gain over hand breaking.
In order that the attendants may readily watch the operations
in the kiln and gas-v/asher, iron frame-work is built aro'^nd the
kiln, and platforms of iron-^ork ate attached to this at inter-
vals of about 10 ft. The method of co-structi an can be better
ijnderstcod by referring to the drawing on Pl-^te 3. Openings are
made in the kiln just above each of these platforms, so that the
zone of greatest combustion may be located and its position altered
if need be. Also, pokers may be inserted through these openings
and used in breaking large lumps of lime, iihich may be formed,
during the burning, "Scar" folds "are also liable to be formed,
as in bl".st-furnaces , and these must be broken dO'OTi. The
3- ->!
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af L're:.-:ent: icnsd cpeni:-.;-^ :;i;,^.i.s-G ':e fizte:" -ith 'lir-t i'^lrt coy;
preveno -leajfccage cf :lie gases. Iliere are
adherec'. to, r-n-.T ■:::sr<„'' prec^ri: ions tc '^6 cTos
burning of li..escc.:e, but these need not "be fsf erred 'o o here.
Thecrec ically, about £ r'.bs . ot coke are rec<uired ^o diHsoci.;
100 lbs, of lilies': one int c ■ cal?i\:'jn oxide Find carbon di:xi:;e. In
]3elp:ian l<il:as i't marj re>ra-'re 11 lbs. :.f coke ;^er 100 lbs. cf
lii"es't one , v^ltho-;!gh good fij.el :;^d attendance may re '.uoe this &c
10 lbs. .:.-r 100 Ibc. of limestone. The req^'ired quant 1tioe of
coke and liirestone are 'thro'-ii into a pit beside the kiln, ^ehiob
^-'It forme the' boot of ?■ bv.oket--:le .?-o;t or. Sj nvoans of t::e laucsr
the iiiateriole are lifted to the top and fed into a bsll hooper,
tbe bcttom cf ""hich is closed by a oup and oo'ne. Ao re.':u.lp.r
interTals the ir;aterials are dropoed into the kiln bp unt/ing the
hopper-cord, \hen :he --eixht of lirnestoo^e snd ooke upon the be!'^-
"'"ill ce.;3,ee it to c;en. All feeding; 0:;'€raGions in^e/ ch.is be con-
trolled fror;i the £ro\«o" floor.
"he Gas-'^sher:
The gases passing through the kilxi ere 'eith-drav;n at tv;o
siO.es and arc thence led to tl\e sas-^'^esher . The arren;;e.eLne.
shc'-Ti on Plate 3 is v-ry ooriiironl;" used for this ;e.irpose. It
is an iron-pl"t;ed cjlindsr 3 f t . in dieoneter anl 10 f o . . 6 i:. .
high. I)a;.a as oo the neoesearp si?;e of ohe gas-"^ sher 'eas not
to be foT-nd. Tbis one hcrjever, has- a di:~riieter nee.rlj,' i;s greai;
11
as the limekiln itself, so- that the gass-^ have about the same
velocity in the '^^asher as they have in the kiln. The gases ent^r
the v/asher from belo'^, through a perforated pipe ■'•hich is im-
mersed in \vater. Four shelves are fixed above at regular int..:r-
vals. Upon the lower three shelves vat:;r is fed. This i"^ater
enters through a pipe above the second shelf from the top, and
covers it. When a definite level is reached, an overflow pipe
carries this T/ater to the shelf beneath. These overflow pipes
are covered T;ith hoods whose rims dip beneath the surface of
the water. Thus the gas in passing upward, is forced to bubble
through water four times. Wlien the top shelf is reached the ga.s
is moist and carries some wat-r mc^chanicalljr v.'ith it. This is
removed^in a neasure^bj'- porous coke which "rests upor the top
shelf. The total resistance of the ga.s washer to the ps-ssa.ge of
the gases should be not more than the equivalent of three feet
of watr;r.
The ■'•/ash-'Water is removed through a siphon-shaped pipe
which leads to a closed tank on the ground floor. This is dOT-e
to provide a proper seal to prevent air being sucked into the
v;asher and thus diluting the gases. The amiount of wash-water
should be regulated so that the overflov/ is al^^ays hot, since
hot water absorbs less carbon dioxide than cold water. The
dra';.ght through the kiln and washer is mainta-ined by a gas-
pump in the power-house, wlnich pump serves also to force the
gases into the carbonation tanks in the sugar-ho'^se. A relief
valve m.ust be inserted inthe connecting pipes, anjn^here out of
doors, so that when no gas is g :ing used in the sugar -house the
12
pressure Tvill not iDecoEie excessive.
Preparation of Milk of Lime:
The "burned lim-j;", v;hon re- oved from "beneath the kiln, is
heaped on the ground floor, h-^noath the gas-washer platform.
At one side of th'i kiln-house, the milk of lime mixer is sit-
uated. This consists of a c;riindrical iron drum, set horizon-
tally, ^'vhich has numero^is lug-anglos rivettcd to its inner sur-
face. The driim is slightly inclined and lim^ is fed in at one
end by means of a -"/ooden hopper. A pipe leads V7ater into thy
drum at this end. The bearings of the drum are of the com-
mon roller-and-saddle type so often used for such vessels, and
the drum is rotated by a chain '"hich engages cogs on the cir-
ciimference of the former, which chain is driven by an electric
motor set upon a shelf atoove. The water and lime a.re ^^ell
mixed by the rotation and thb action of the li'.gs. At tbe other
end of the drum the lime—v^ater overflows into a reservoir from
a
which it is Toi^mped to the defec1:ing te.nk in the sugar house.
The resulting milk of lime should hav.- a densit:^ of about of
about 20*'3aume', in order to be readily pumped.
13
Secrtion 3
The Sugar House.
The struct -are, within whose 'jra.lls the extraction and pijir-
ification of the sijgar takes place, is kno^m as the sugar house.
It will contain almost all the machinery and appliances necessary
in the manufacture of heet-sugar, and will therefore richly merit
detailed attention. Upon Plate 4 will "be found elevation views
of this "building, making clear the method of construction and
the arrangement of apparatus.
The prime factors entering into the design of the sugar house-
building, are cleanliness and roominess. Of course, the usual
limitations of cost and durability must be imposed upon the de-
signing architect. But the building must be large enoiAgh, in
all its proportions, to readily accommodate all the required
machinery, and also afford such facilities for the arrangement
and subsequent control of that machinery, as will be most con-
ducive to cleanliness and dispatch.
Construction of Sugar House:
The sugar ho^se should be constructed with concrete foun-
dations, brick walls, and reinforced concrete floors, col^mins
and roof. In certain places the floor-spans will be required
to be of such lengths that steel beams will have to be used.
The investigation of such matters is left entirely to the ar-
chitect. The building will be 230 ft. X 60 ft. over all and
consist of three stories and ground floor. Several pits must
OSC-
. c
-•:. f
14
be excavated below the ground floor. One leads from the entrance
of beet -flume to the beet-7/heel. This must be waterproof, as
must also a flume to be built beneath the diffusion battery for
disposal of the spent cossettes. A depressed channel for con-
veyors must be provided beneath the centrif\;igals. The end of
the building containing the strike pans, crystallizers , and
centrifugals, may be designated as the sugar end of building,
as distinguished from the beet end. At the sugar end a large
pit sho'xLd be built, for molasses storing and mixing tanks.
The three upper floors will have to contain numerous open-
ings for pipes, conveyors and bins. Wherever this is necessary
is made plain upon the drawing. Upon the second floor, at the
extreme beet end, space is reserved for an office for the super-
intendent and for the chemical laboratory. Above the fourth
floor a balcony or platform is showi at sugar end. This is
built for the support of Tracer trunks and sulphitors.
Plan to be followed in Ensuing Discussion:
Henceforth we shall concern ourselves mostly with the details
of appliances in the sugar house, and in order to systematize the
discussion, the individual apparatus will be described in the
order in which it oomes into use in the process. The next (f^,urth)
section will deal with the handling and preparation of the beets
previous to sugar extract ion ^and with the diffusion or extraction
of juices from the insoluble parts of the beet -root. The fifth
section will tresit of the purification of the juices, and the
sixth will describe the process and appliances for their
.A ,•
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;V
'•'»
i n£
15
concentration. The seventh section will deal with the crystall-
ization and separation of the sugar from the molasses, while the
eighth section will briefly describe the treatment of the mftl'isae';
for the recovery of more sugar. In the ninth section we shall
take up the handling and packing of the finished sugar, while
the tenth section will "be devoted to the disposal of by-products
and a brief consideration of the costs of installation and run-
ning expenses. We may thus follow the beets and juices through
the sugar house, describing each appliance, in regard oo design
and use, as it comes into play.
"J cJ
it>;"i a.
:-. F-. ,•
it sc
Seat ion 4
A. Treatment of Beets Preliminary to Diffusion:
Washing of Beets:
The 'oeets, upon arrival at the sugar house, will have been
freed from nearly all adhering stones and heavy ohjecta during
their passage through the hydraulic flumes. Much soil, leaves,
twigs, etc. , still clings to them, however, and for the elim-
ination of these the beet -roots are sent through the washer.
This must be fed from above, so a suitable device must be pro-
vided to lift the beets from the flume to the top of the crash-
ing machine. The beet-wheel serves this purpose. It is con-
structed of iron plate, and mouinted upon heavy bearings. The
wheel will have an external diameter of about 17 ft. and will
lift t3ae beets through a height of about 14ft., from whence
they fall into the washer. The wheel is shown at extreme beet
end of s"agar house, on main floor, and also in section A - B
on 5l3''te 4. The beets are caught in perforated iron buckets,
arranged as on a water-wheel, and the flume-water is thus
allowed to flow off without entering the washer. The beet-
wheel is driven by gearing from a motor, -'/hidh serves also to
drive the washer.
The beet-washer consists of an elevated trough of sheet-
iron, within whicila the i>eets are thoroughly agitated in water
by means of a revolving shalt to which are attached numerous,
Co ^ 'Ij
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17
projecting, cast-iron arms. The shaft is driven "by a gear from
a motor which also drives the beet-7:heel. For a 600 ton factory
the \vasher should have a length of ahout 5 meters and a daameter
of atout 1.5 meters, according to Ware. The one sho?m on Plate
4 in the sugar house has a length of 16ft. and a diameter of 5 1/2
ft. The power necessary to drive it will he about 7 1/S horse-
power. The dirty beets are fed in at one end and the fresh w^/ter
at the other. The dirt and stones sink to the bottom, which is
perforated, and allows them to fall into a compartment beneath,
where they are removed through a door in the base. The clean
beets are picked up by revolving blades and fed to a chu^e which
deposits them in the boot of the elevator.
The beet elevator carries the washed beets from the ground
floor to the fourth floor. This elevator is inclined, and should
be entirely^ enclosed in a sheet iron casing. The buckets must
be large in order that the beets be not injured. A good size
would be 2 ft. XI ft. Xlft. deep. The bot)tom of buckets are
rounded and the buckets are attached to two heavy chains which
pass over grooved pulleys at the top and bottom.
Weighing of Beets.
The beet elevator delivers the beets to a large spout -ffhidh
projects over the automatic scales. The weighing of the v/ashed
beets is a matter often disregarcfed in American factories. The
«
unreliability of sampling the beets upon arrival renders this
weighing a necessity, if accurate accounts of the amo'jnts of
beets sliced are to be kept. The appliances used for the
J1
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ri fj'i-s
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Ijsijii' :i
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18
automatic registration of the '''eight of "beets passing into the
slicers, are of very intricate desigrn. They are manufactured
hy Geraian concerns, and are so well covered "by patents that the^'-
have hut little competition.
This weighing cannot he accoixiplished with the ease and
celerity obtained in grain weighing. The beets cannot be so
evenly fed, and che sup nly cannot be shut off at exactly the
required weight. The n;-=chine is set, however, to deliver a
certain weight of beets at a time, and a special appliance is
provided, which registers the variation in each weight taken.
The correct weight is thus registered, after allowing for the
discrepency or overweight of each discharge. The automatic
scales are not sho^wn in detail on Plate 4, on acco-wit of their
complexity. Only the r^osition of scale-hopper and supporting
frame are sho'^/n.
Slicing the Beets:
The autoraatic scales hopper delivers the beets into a large
hopper just beneath the fourth floor. This spacious receptacle
is necessary because the slice^ must be constantly fed to their
full capacity'- in order to perform their duty tio the best advanta:jje.
Several tons of beets can thus be kept in readiness for the slicarr;
so that a short shut-do^'m of the washer will not cause any delay.
A detailed sketch of the arrangement of elevator, scales, and
slicers, is shown on Plate 7.
The beet slicers are situated on the third floor, ateove the
diffusion battery. The beets fall from the hopper above, through
"to
^o «i
19
a vertical chute, which opens at each side, feeding the beets
to the two slicers. Each of these consists of a cast-iron drum
4 ft . in diameter and 1 ft'. 6 in. ride, which revolves upon a
horizontial shaft suitably supported. The beets are fed into the
center of the drum and are thrown against the circumference by
the a:!tion of centrif';igal force. An interfering projection with-
in the drum causes the beet to be wedo;ed in a compartment whose
width gradually diminishes; The beets then strike against pro-
jecting knives set in the periphery of the drum, and are thus
sliced. The wedge-shaped compartanent serves to keep the rem-
nants of the beets pressed against the knife-bla.des. A small
opening is left at the end of this nose obstructor, as it is
called, through which stones and other foreign matter may leave
the machine. The slices pass the knife-blades and are thrown
against the sheet iron casing of the dr\;im, from which they fall
into the hopper beneath. The slices are known as cossettes, and
are triangular in section, and of lengths varying up to 6 in.
The slicers here sho\'m are of the Maguin fixed blade type,
and each is capable of slicing 300 t -ns of beets per 24 ho'?rs.
The drums should be driven at the rate of 60 revolutions per
minute, and will require a motor of about 4 horse-^ower for the
operation of the t7/o here shown. The beet-slices fall into the
cossette hopper, which, together with its delivery spout, has a
capacity equal to abcut that of one diffusor. The spout is
supported by a swivel arrangement, beneath the cossette hopper,
which allows it to s-.ving in a circle so that its extsemity may be
moved over the miouth of any diffusor. The diffusors are thus fed
directly from the slicers, without requiring any cossette con-
veyors.
20
B. Diffusion:
The Diffusion Battery.
The sliced cossettes are made to give up their content of
sugar h/ the process of diffusion, wlii'ih depends for its success
upon the rapid osmosis of saccharine and saline substances thrciEh
the natural membranes of the heet-celis, and the retention, witih-
in the cell, of the colloid^or less osraot i ovalbumin o ids and pec-
tic substances. This is realized in practice by systematically
soaking the cossettes in warm water, or m warm juices of less
concentration than the juices \!7ithin the beet-cell. This ex-
tracci-:3i takes piace in sheet-iron vessels, i^i-hich form a group
known as the diffusion battery. A single vessel is knov/n as a,
dif^fusion cell, or simply as a diffusor. The diffusion battery
is built at the beet end of sugar house, between the main floor
and second fxoor. The details of its construction, as i^ell as
the size and shape of diffusors , may be obtained from a study of
Fiate 5.
The diffusion cell C'.nsists of a cj'-lindrical body, with trun-
cated cone top and bottom. The body is made of boiler-plate,
while the upper and lower portions are of cast iron. In the
working of the factory, 500 tons of cossettes must pass through
the battery each 24 hrs. With the usual method of woricing , a
cell is emptied and refilled about once e\rery seven or eight
minutes, or aboijt eight times per ho'Jir. The battery contains
fourteen cells, and of these^two will always be either in the
process of enptying or filling. The number of effe.ctive cells,
21
always full of beets, is then twelve. The cossettes are allowed
to pack into the cell, and are then tamped down 'o'j the at&endant.
Usually about 50 kilos, of cossettes are packed into a heotoiiter
of diffusor capacity. The 60 hectoliter diffusors in this fac-
tory will then each hoxd ( 5u X 60= ) 3000 kilos, of cossettes.
The battery may then work { 3000 X 3 X 24 = ) 576,000 kilos or
about 635 tons of cossettes per day.
The baotery here shovm is of the circular type. The cells
are arranged in the circumference of a circle, and are supported,
at the sides, upon T beams which extend radially from a heavy
support at the center to columns and cross-beams outside. The
cells are supported, at front and ba,ck , unon circular T beains
which bear upon the aforementioned radial members. These latter
serve also to carry the juice heaters and auxiliary piping. The
advantages of a circular battery, when land is cheap and the sugar
house may be m?de wide and roomy, are as follows: During the
woKking , a great deal of opening and closinfr of valves, and read-
ing of pressure gauges and thermometers, is necessary. This is
facilitated by the compactness of design and the close proximity '
of the cells to one another, in the circular battery. The arraj:s6-
ment of the diffusors about a common center allows for their being
filled from a central revolving spout as shown on Plate 7, and
does away with the necessity of installing cossette conveyors.
Also, the superintendent or the batt ery-i-can can easily see at a
glance, and without changing their positions, the condition of
• working of the batter/, which advantage cannot be obtained by
the double iine method of arrangement. The circu]a,r baut ery also
requires less piping and. less "steel for supports. Its main dis-
advantage is tti8 -fide space which it o?cunies, which requires a
wide building; and the loss of space in the middle of the battery
and on the floor above where the feeding- spout swings to c'nd. fro.
The other arrangement, known a,s the double line battery, has
its cells supported in two rows. This requires a long, narrow
space, and long cossette conveyors. Also, the two diffusors at
one end must be connected by several pipes to the two cells at
the other end, requiring a great length of piping. When the last
cell in the row is refilled and started, the battery iran must go
clear to the other end of the battery to start the next cell, thus
causing great delay and inconvenience.
Working of the Battery.
Years of e:iqierience ere required for the proper control and
operation of a diffusion battery. Several ixethods are in vogue,
but only one will be here briefly described, and the arrangement
of piping and valves made plain at the same time. Suppose the
cell marked 1 in the pla-n on Plate 5 to bS empty and washed out.
The cossette spout is brought over its m6uth, and the cossette
slices filled into the cell^with frequent tamping. When the cell
is full the cover is put on and fastened tightly by means of the
hand-v;heel and screw above. The first operation of extraction is
known as mashing. Here juice which has previously passed through
eleven other diffusors, and is already quite concentrated, is
sent through the fresh cossettes. In order to disr)lace ?.ll the
air, this filling must take place from the bottom to the top.
-i-l
23
For this p^jrpose the juioe froin the next preceding cell, numloer
14, is run up through the juice heater next that cell, and from
thence through the juice pipe to -toalve 1 ( see elevation view ).
This -Talve is opened, and allows the juice to flo%v through the
heater on cell 1 from top to bottom. These heaters are mere cast
iron cylinders containing upright steam pipes -vithin them. Ex-
haust steam from the multiple effect is fed into the pipes, and
the condensed water is rx;in out by a 2 in. T)ipe below, which may
be opened and closed by means of a va.lve controlled from the
floor above. The juice, in passing through the heaters, attains
a tempera.ture of from eO^to 70° C , and is so heated in order to
facilitate rapid osmosis.
From the heater then, the thick juice is run into the cell
at the bottom, through the connecting oipe sho?^ plainly on
elevation view. The lower part of the diffusor has two shells,
the inner one of which is perforated and serves to hold zhe cos-
settes in place and still allow circulation of the juices. The
juice will be thus run in until it overflows through the faucet
at the top, into a budcet hung there to rsoeiTe it. The valves
are then closed and the flow of juice reversed so as to take
place from top to bottom. The juice is sent back through the
ju4(ke heater to its top. There the valve into the juice pipe is
opened and allo7;s the juice to flow to the outlet ^/alve on the
juice pipe, from whence it proceeds to the measuring t.^nk, -hich
is shown to the left of the diffusion battery in the longitudinal
elevation on Plate 4.
As the thick juice leaves cell ITo. 1 it is displaced by the
«,
24
juice froTTj oell H"o. 2, whioZa in turn receives juice from cell
Ho. 3, and so on back tc cell No, 12, where fresh rater is heing
run in from a tank on the toT^ floor. In passing froin one cell to
the next,' the juice passes out through the pipe belo?/, enters the
juice heater, leaves- it at the top, and passes through the valves
marked 2 and 3, (see elemtion Plate 5) thus gaining entrance to
the next cell. This is going on through all the cells, tc the
cell number 12, where valve 3 is open and valve 2 closed, so that
fresh water is allowed to enter from, the water-pipe. This fresh
water miust have a head of 30 ft. at least , accordIn^a• to Claassen,
so as to successfully over-come the resistance to its passage
offered by the cossettes and valves of the diffusion battery. In
this plant the supply tank --'ill have an effective head of at least
40 ft. of '."-ater.
The cossettes in cell 12 have been in that cell longer than
the cossettes in any other cell, so that they have already had
eleven treatments with juices, each juice a little less concen-
trated than the la.st ^nd uherefore more capable of e^^rsczing'
sugar froiT: the beet-cells. At the twelfth operation then, these
cossettes are 'cashed with fresh water, whi di completes the ex-
traction. This last soaking with fresh wcjter extracts the sxxgoT
from the cossettes to such an extent that the s-^ent rraterial re-
tains only from .2^ to .S/^ of its weirrht of •^ugar.
The cossettes in a oell having been completely exhausted as
described, the cell is ready to be emptied. Valves 1,2 and 3 are
closed, shutting off the diffusor from its neiprhbors. The in-
clined hand-'n'heel above is -felien turned (see elevation Pl'te 5)
! «
25
thus turning a small bevel "-ear, which causes the vertic?.! rod
to re vol -/e ar.d thus opens the -s^tch ^hi in holds the hottom shut.
The -or-,cked cossettes in the cell, as well as the rubber p-dking
under the boti^om, holds the cover en tip-htly. This cover extends
beyond the cell, as shown, however, and is attached to a vertical
connecting rod, which is driven by a Hydraulic piston. After
opening the c^.tch on the bottom, then, the battery-man lets w-'t'y
under pressure into the hydraulic cylinder , and the pressure
draws the connecting rod up, lifting the counterweights, and open-
ing the bottom of the diffusor. The cossettes, which are quite
wet and soggy, fall out and are deposited in the concrete flume
beneath, where they flow to an elevator for further disposal. The
cell is then washed out with wauer, the hydraulic cylinder used
to swing the bottom shut, and a t is-ht joint finally m-^de by sorem-
ing up the hook-shaped catch again.
The hard rubber ring inside the bottom cover, renders the
diffusor air-tight and the cover impervious to the juices which
are passing over it under pressure. The water used in the hy-
draulic cylinder is fed from a small 2 in. pipe encircling the
inside of the battery. The W9ter used may be supplied from the
same tank as is the water used for diffusion. The steam for
juice heating is fed from the circular 6 in. pipe sbovm on the
plan of battery. The steamused will be obtained from the second
or thirdvessel of the multiple effect, and will be at a temper-
ature varying from lOO^to 115^0.
The juice from the diffusion battery passes to a measuring
tank, from whence it is sent to the purifying apparatus. The
?6
diffusion "ba^ttery is so constructed that all -^/alves , faucets,
hand-wheels ani levers are accessable from the second floor. The
work of diffusion is then entirely goveiTied by att.endants on the
second floor. The level of this floor is above that of the sun-
porting beams and columns of the diffusion battery, s-o that these
obstructions are hidden from view.
Section 5
Purificsation of the Juices,
Measuring :
The juice from the diffusion hattery must be accurately
measured, In order to be treated ii'ith the proper weight of lime
in the subsequent purification. Besides this there are addition-
al reasons why the diffusion juice should be accurately measured.
5'rom the last section it is evident that as the concentrated juice
is drawn from the battery, it coires from the diffusor last filled
with fresh cossettes. At the diffusor at the end of the system,
however, the place of this concentrated juice is being taken by
fresh water. This .operation is repeated every time a new diffusor
is filled. It is plain then, that the vol^xTie of juice dra\"m from
the battery will decide the volume of water entering the end
diffusor. Since the quantity of sugar present in the entire battery
at any time is •^bout constant, it is evident that the amount of
juice drawn ea ±l time will govern the concentration of the foll-
owing "draws". The limiting concentration will be that of the
juice within the beet-cells. If the juice drawn is as concentra-
ted in soluble m.att er as the normal juice in the fresh cossettes
in the las:: diffusor, osmosis will cease Pnd further concentration
of the diffusion juice is impossible. The less juice dra'-vn , the
more concentrated it will be, of course; but, on the other hand,
drawing less juice means less perfect extraction of the sugar.
The happy medium must therefore be determined in practice.
28
Many factories draw off only 100 liters, or 26.4 gals, ner
100 iilos. , or 220 lbs. , of beets. Claassen reoonmnends that not
more than 110 liters of juice be 3rawn per 100 kilos, of beets.
With poor beets however, or with abnormal conditions in the
diffusion battery, it rtB-y be necessary to draw as much as 130 liters
of jui 36 per 100 kilos, of beets sliced. In Section 4 it -as
sho-m that each diffusor contained about 3000 kilos, of beets.
The juice drawn each time will then ne-vf^r exceed(3000 X 1.30=)3900
liters. This juice goes to one of the measuring tanks sho\ivn to the
left of diffusion battery, in longitudinal elevation of sup-ar house
on Plate 4. These tanks are constructed of simple shaet-iron, and
have a glass water-gauge attachment on front , to* show the height of
the liquid contained in them. Each tank must be carefully cali-
brated and a scale marked on the water-gauge in liters or gallons,
as preferred. A better arrangement is to" attach an adjustible
overflow which will act when the required volume of juice has
entened the tank. The battery-man may thus be warned to close the
water valve, since the tanks a^e in plain sight of the diffusion
battery. Each tank should have a capacity equal to the maximum
voiume of juice which may be drawn at one timie. Therefore these
tajiks must each contain 4000 liters, or 4 cu. meters, or about
140 cu. ft. For safety the tanks are made 6 ft. X 4 ft. X 10 ft .
Defecation:
Promi the measuring tank the juice is ptqjiped to the liming or
defecating tank. This is a circular tank with a simple stirring
a-paratus attached, and contains also, a fev; coils of steam pipes
29
for lieat inr the juloe during liming. The stirring spindle is
driven "by a siLrll ir.otor above. The defecating te.rik has a capac-
ity of two dif fusors , or approximately 400 cu. ft. Its dinien-
sions are 7 ft . X 7 ft . X 8 ft . In it milk of lime of a density
of 20''Baume is added -o the juice until from l^o to 2;a of the
weight of the juice of lime, has been pumped in. These quanti-
ties are according to the recoiranendat ion .of \l7are , e.nd are varied
at different localities and different factories according to the
quality of beets sliced. "iThile defecation proceeds, the juice is
heated to a temperature of from 75°to SS^C.
The milk of lim.e has both a mechanical and a chemical action
upon the juices. Chemically, the lime precipitates the acids
which have been formed from the fermentation of the sugars and
those resulting from the decomposition of the .albuminoids. Also,
the lime precipitates the pectic substances, albumins and proteids.
The mechanical action then asserts itself, a.nd the coagulated
calcium salts and lime form a scumi which gradually sinks oo the
bottom, carrying v.'ith it suspended matter, shreds of cossettes,
etc. , and leaves a clear limpid juice above. This is drawn off
and sent to the. carbcnation tanks v.ith the scum.
Carbonation:
The juices coming from the defec^-^.t ing tanks contain limie in
solution. To precipitate this, the juices are created with car-
bonic acid until but .07^ to .15^' of lime rem^ains in themi. It is
found th3.t at this degree of alkalinity the juices give the best
filtrate. The carbcnation tanks c.:re situated on the second fleer.
30
to the right of the diffusion hatt ery (see ele^/aticn Plnte 4).
Each tank mvst hrve a yoluirie equal tc two cUffusors and a.t least
three tanks should be provided for the firsx. carbonation. The
Juice should never fill a tank tc iKore tl-ian half its hei.eht , as
frothing occurs when the gfs is introduced. The tan'-s may then
be (400 X 2=) 800 c^;. ft. in capacity or 7 fz. X 7 f ^ . X 1q ft .
Each tank is covered, and a large pipe lends the evolved
gases tc the chimney. A stirring apparatus and st eam-heat ing
coils are cent aired in the tank, and the gas is pumped in through
a perforated pipe at the bottom. Hear the top of the tajnk, above
the surface £f the j^;ice, a horizontal plate is 8/ctached, ^rhich
serves to hold the froth in the tank. The gas passes upv;ard and
through a small pipe in the froth arrester, to the chimney flue.
The bottcu of the tank is sloped to-vard the em.ptying pipe, so
that the sedim.ent may be readily drained off. Sam^ples of juice
a.re taken durin? carbonaticn, and their alkilitl^ty determined by
the attendant. When orecipitat ion is complete the gas is shut
off and the juice is fed directly to the filter press -umps on
main floor.
Filtration:
The precipitated calciumi carbonate, t •rjr ether rith the coag-
ulated albuminoids and suspended matter, are separated from the
juice by filtration through filter presses. Those presses used
in a beet -sugar factory "re of the samie tyoe as is tc be found
in any industrial plant ^rhere m^echanical filtration is resorted
to, and no details of the filter presses v.'ere therefore prepared.
31
As to the size of filter presses, praotice shc^-s that 1 sn. meter
of filtering surface is required for 2500 kilos, of beets sliced
per day. This factory, to hano'le 6C0 tons (545,000 kilos.) of
"beets per day, will require a filtering surface of 220 sq. meters.
If eipht presses are installed, they should have a surface of about
28 sq. meters each.
The pump which feeds the filter presses must be capable of
handling 30,000 liters of juice per hour. This is 30 cu. meters
or apprcximatel;/ 1000 cu. ft. , or at the rate of 17 cu. ft. or
127 gals, per m.in. Manufacturer's catalogues describe a vertical,
electric driven, triple, power pun^ , rich 7 in. cylinders and 8 in.
stroke, makinfr 40 revolutions " er minute, '^hioh could easily per-
form this duty. A 20 horse-pcvrer iiiotor rill be required to crire
the pujfnp.
When r. filter press h'"'S filled with -ress-cake the frames
are removed and the press-cake dropped into the la,rge hopper mz-
derneath. The shape of these hoppers ca-n best be seen vy re-
ferring to Section C - I) en Plate 4. The press-cake falls from
the hoppers to a screw conveyor beneath, which carries it to a
tank beside the diffusion battery. The press- caVe is here broken
up and remiOved., t o be sold for fertilizer.
Se cond Carbonat ion:
The filtered juices are sent to the second carbonation tanks,
Vi'here more lim.e is precipitated from the juice hy the action of
carbon dio:cide , until the alkalinity has been reduced to .039;:> to
,04^ limie. The juices should never be rendered neutral or acid,
32
as danger of inversicn and ccnsequent loss of cane-sugar imruedi-
ately arises. The second car'oonaticn requires cnly two tanks,
as it requires less time than the first carhcnauicn. The tanks
are of the san-.e size and ccn~crucLicn as the tanks for first car-
h cnat i on ;
Sulphuring:
The juices fron: second carbonatim are generally treated
with sulphurous acid in crier to ouril'y and decolorize theK:.
This operation is undertaken before the scum from se oond car-
bonation has been filtered off. The sulphitors are situated
on the third floor, to the lefl; of the quadruple effect evapora-
tors. The source of sulphurous anhydride is sulphur, 7;hidh is
burTied in a horizontal combustion chamber. The furr.es enter a
tall column, where the sulphur whi di may have been volatilized,
is condensed and returned to the firep3,ace. The sulphur dioxide
passes through a narrow nipe to a collecting chamber, from which
it passes to the sulphuring tanks. These are similar in mode of
operation, to the carbonation tanks, being smaller, because the
in
juice only remains, .them a short time.
T
Prom the sulnhitors, the juices proceed to mechajiical filters-,
to be freed from the pr^rcipitated matter thrown down during seconi
carbonation and sulphuring. Pour mechanical filters are sho 'n on
the ground floor , beside the diffusion battery. These are pocket,
or bag filters, which filter the juice under low pressure, in
order that the finer particles from second carbonation and sul-
phuring may be retained on the cloths. The bags are cut like
33
pillow-cases, and are snspended in a troi;igh which contains the
juice to he filtered. The troup-h is tightly closed hy a heavy
cover with counterpoises. The hags are held open hy iron frames,
over which they are dravm. The imfiltered juice fills the coia-
partment around the hags, and, afoer passing tiirou^h them, flo'A's
out at the to^, leaving the sediment caked on the outside of the
hags, where its removal is readily accomplished.
Iz is frequently customary to sulphur the poorer juices
several times, filtering after each time. By this means the
alkalinity of the juice is reduced to about .01;6 lime. Ware makes
a calculation that the amount of sulphur needed is about .2;'. of
the wei-?ht of beets sliced. In this factory then (.002X600X2000=)
2400 "lbs. of sulphur will be used each day. As a matter of fact,
the factory Ti^ill easily use twice this amount , for much sulph^jr-
ous acid is used for decolaising the molasses preliminary to the
preparation of second sugar.
Between the various operations of epuration, the juices are
liable to colle ■^rt in large quantities awaiting fuirther treatment,
especially as some of the juices require more treatment than
others. Tor this reason ample storage capacity is provided, for
juices awaiting their turn to be sulnhured, ca-rbonated, or filtered
Tanks are provided for this purpose on the third- floor, at sugar
end of house, opnosite the strike pans, and on the loalcony above
the foiarth floor. Part of these t ^nks will also be called into
use for the storage of co:-. cent rat ed juices.
a:
i^
Se^rition 6
Concentration of the Juice.
After the juices have been freed from albi;iinincus material,
pectic matter, and other substxinces detrimental to ready crys-
tallization of the suf-ar, they are rea.dy for the concentration
process. The greater part of the concentration is done in the
multiple effect and the rest is accomplished in the vacuum, or
"strike", pans. The partly concentrated juice, or "magma," pumped
from the last vessel of the multiple effect, usually-- has a density
of from. 27° to sCBaujue^ The crystallisation of the su^ar from
this solution is then effected in the vacuian pans.
The Quadruple Effect:
The multiple effect in this factory will consist of four
vessels, and is knovm as a quadruple effect. The size of the
apparatus was' figured in the folloviring manner. The a.verage crop
of beets will contain 18% of soluble solids. This does not mean
iSfii sugar, as the expressed juice often has a purity of only 80,
meaning that only 80/o of these soluble solids is cane sugar.
During the poorest conditions it will not be ned.essary to draw
more than 130 liters of juice from the diffusion battery for
each 100 kilos, of beets sliced. Now 100 kilos, of beets contain
(100 X .18=) 18 kilos, of soluble solids. The juice from the :
diffusion battery will then always contain at least (18-*- 130=) 14/fc
-Of solids in soD.ution. If 500 tons of beets are sliced in 24 hours,
35
or 50,000 lbs. per hour, there will result 22,680 kilos, of
cossettes each hour. If 130 liters of juice are ohtained from
each 100 kilos, of cossettes, the "green" juices?, as they are
called, will amount to (22680 X 130—100=) 29500, or approxi-
mately 29,600 liters -per hour. This is then the volume of juice
fed to the qi;tadruple effect each hour. Let us first consider
one liter of this juice. A 14)^ solution contains 140 grams of
solids in one liter. If this is concentrated to a 50€ solution,
280 grams of water will remain with the 140 grams of solids.
The original liter #ill then lose (1000- 280=) 720 gr. of water.
■ 29,600 liters of juice will then lose (29,600 X 720-M000-)
approximately 22,000 kilos/ of water. This is the weight of •
water which the quadruple effect must he capable of evaporating
each hour.
The details of the quadruple effect are shovin upon Place 6,
together with the condensing apparatus. The juice to he e va.po-
rated is fed into the vessel sho^/n in section, at the left hand
side of the drawing. Here it en coiont ers pipes containing steam
at a temperature of about lOS^C,, and a pressure of 5 lbs. above
that of the atmosphere, or 20 lbs. absolute. This heating steam
is the exhaust from the engine and the gas-pump in the power-
house. The steam is condensed and the condensed water is forced
out by the interna)^ pressure when the draw valve is opened. The
cold juice, then, pa.sses over the steam pipes and is heated to
boiling. The lower part of the vessel is divided longitudinally
into two parts, by a vertical sheet-iron partition. The juice,
which enters at the bottom, must pass up and over this partition
before it can leave the vessel. It must therefore encoimter the
pipes on both sides of the vessel. Now the vapor evolved by the
■boiling juice in the first vessel passes up to the outlet pipes
on top, 'vhidh lead into a cylindrical hopizontal compartment,
containing baffle plates. These 'oaffle plates cauoh any su^;\ir,
T^hich may he mechanically carried over \^r the vapor, and return
it through a drip pipe to the first vessel. The vapors then pass
into a horizontal pipe, which leads into a dovvn- comer, "hich in
turn opens into the heating pipes of the second vessel. The
vapors from vessel No. 1 whus heat the juice in vessel No. 2.
The heating vapor is condensed in the pipes in vessel Ho. 2 and
thus creates a partial vacuum ^^hich serves to relieve the pressure
in vessel No. 1. Mean^rhile the juice from vessel No. 1 passes
through the pipe on the floor level and enters vessel No. 2.
Here the temperature is lower, being about 100^6. The juice
would not boil in this vessel, were it not that the pressure is
less than that in vessel No. 1, being about one atmosphere.
Vessel No. 2 is constructed just like vessel No. 1. The
vapors given off pass through a sugar catcher, as before, and
then into the ste^in pipes of vessel No. 3. Here they condense,
and thus keep the pressure in vessel No. 2 down. The juice
from No. 2 passes into No. 3, where the temperature is but 90*^0
and the pressijire only 10 lbs. absolute. This reduced pressure
causes the juice- to boil and thus produce vapor for the heating
of vessel No. 4. In vessel No. 4 the temperature is only SO^C,
and the pressure is less than 2 lbs. , absolute. At this pressure
the juice, heated "oy the vapors from vessel No. 3, which are at
a temperature of nearly 90^0., boils rapidly, and gives off
vapors which are condensed in a surface condenser to the right,
above.
.1
37
The circulation is thus established, the juice "being aspi-
rated from one vessel to the next , "by virLu.e of the hipher va-
cu'Jim existing in the succeeding vessels. As the juice becomes
more concentrated it passes into vessels with a higher vacui;tra and
thus boils at lo?; temperatures, which do not endanger the sup-^.r.
A 50^ sugar solution under atmospheric pressure would boil at so
high a temperature that much sugar -vould be lost ly inversion.
Since a vacuum exists in the heating pipes of all the vessels
but the first, condensing pumps are shown attached to these vess-
els to remove the condensed Wc.ter. The steam heating pipes are
all I inch boiler tubes, set in clusters of eight about central
bolts at each end, vnhidh bolts serve to attach them to the front
and back of the vessel.
It vias shOTm that the quadruple effect must be capable of
evaporating 22,000 kilos, of water per houjf. Theoretically,
since a higher vacuum exists in the fourth vessel than in the
third, the former is capable of evaporating more water per sq. ft.
of heating surface than the latter, and the third, in turn, can
evaporate more than the second, and so on. However, steajci is
frequently taken from the second or third vessels t o be used in
heating the juices during diffusion and carbonation, so the vessels
are- each made with the same amoumt of heating surface. We may
then assume that one-fourth of the total evaporation in the en-
tire effect takes place in each vessel. Each vessel must then
evaporate (22,0004-4») 5500 kilos, of water per hour.
Prom experiments ajid practical data, it has been found that
in a quadruple effect about 30 kilos, of water may be evaporated
38
per hour, per sq. meter of heating surface. To allow for extra
Steam rhich may "be -^ithdra-vTri from the several vessels, assume
that hut 25 kilos, of n'at er are evaporated per sq. meter of heat-
ing surface, per hour. Each vessel must then have (5500-2-25=)
220 sq. meters or 2360 sq. ft. of heating surface. This is
afforded hy S850 lineal feet of 1 in. boiler tuhes. If the tuhes
he 15 ft. long, as shcroi on Plate S, there will have to be
( 6850 -y- 15=) 450 tubes. With eight tubes in a cluster there will
be required 56 clusters, which is the number shown.
From the required tubing, the necessary dimensions of ea-ch
vessel were easily found. The height was made twice that of 'ohe
depth of jmice, to allow for violent ebullition or frothing. As
to the weight of steam required in the multiple effect, no yery
exact figures can be given. In the first vessel the entire amouit
of .juice must be raised zo the "ooiling point , and then 5500 kilos.
of water evaporated. The amount of steam necessary will depend
upon the concentration and temperature of the entering juice, and
may amount to as much as 10,000 kilos. , or 22,000 lbs. , of steam
per hour. The condensing pt;imps must each be capable of removing
6600 kilos, of ^■^ter from their respective vessels each h.ciAr.
This is 6 cu. meters or about 200 cu. ft. per hour. A pump with
5 X 5 in. water cylinder and 4X5 in. steam cylinder, making 100
strokes per minute, will perform this duty.
A vacuum of from 26 to 28 in. of merc-ory is constantly main-
tained in the last, or fourth vessel of the effect. The vapors,
before entering the condenser, pass through a large sugar catcher
equipped with several baffle plates. The sugar is returned to the
_. (=^.I
C \ "xO
39
vessel throiJgh -a drip pipe, -rhile the vapors pass on to the con-
denser. This latter is of the jet type, worked on the dry-air
system. The vapors enter che condenser at the bottom and, pass-
ing up?ra,rd, meet sheets of falling ;"ater which is fed in at the
top. The water is spread in thin layers hy placing three shelves
in the condenser, which ha^;e a rim actadhed so that the water
collects on each shelf to a height of about 1 \/2 inches.
There is always foumd large quantities of entrained air and
ammonia gas in the juices as well as in the cooling water. Thesel
gases cannot be conden^d, and would soon destroy the vacuum if
means were not provided for their removal. It is therefore found
necessary to attach a pump to the top of the condenser to pump
out the gases. The water is removed below, and flows by gravity
to a hot-well beneath. The hot-well must be at least 30 feet be-
low the condenser or the reduced pressure in the latter will cause
the water in the hot-well to be s-.icked uri into the condensing
chamber.
The size of condenser required was obtained from tables ^ivasn
in Hausbrand' s "Evaporating, Condensing and Cooling Apparatus^" To
condense SOOO kilos, of steam per hour, rill require 85,500 kiloa
of cooling w?ter at 15^ C. The condenser will have to be at least
4'— o" in diameter inside, and should have a height of 10 ft.,
measured from the top shelf do-m. The steam pipe will be 2 ft.
3 in. in diameter, and the fall pipe 9 inches in diameter.
If the cooling water is at 15** C. , and the final temperature
is 55^C. , there vjill liave to be 1338 liters of air removed for
Q^Q'C^ 100 kilos of steami condensed. The vacuum pump must then
y
40
, remove (oO X 1338=) 80,000 liters per hour, or 48 cu. ft. per
minute. The Deane Steam Pump Co. desori'oe a duplex pump with
steam cylinders 7 in. in diameter and air cylinders 9 in. in
diameter, with an 8 in. stroke, -which is capable of displacing
58 cu. ft. per minute. This should be well able to keep up the
■vacuum, even when leakage occurs.
The concentrated juice leaving the multiple effect has a
specific gravity of from 2T'to SCBaume , and contains about 50/^
of sugar. It is kno^tn as magma, and is removed from the fourth
vessel by a magma pump. This pump must handle from eight 'bo ten
thousand liters, or 10 cu. meters, per hour. That is about 350
cu. ft. per hour or 5 cu. ft. per min. A 5 in. X 7 in. pump
maling 30 strokes per minute will perform this duty. The magma
is pumped from the quadruple effect to the top flcor where it
is sulphured and filtered through bag filters. It is then sent
to the storage tanks shown on the third floor, from which it is
fed to t}ie vacuumpans.
The Vacuum Pans:
In the vacuum pans tha magma is concentrated until the sugar
crystallizes from the solution. The vacu^Jim in the pans is always
kept at from 25 to 28 in. of mercury. The process of concentratin
consists in filling the pan with magma and boiling until very fi'-.e,
almost invisible crystals appear. Then more magma is slowly fed
into the pan, the boiling being continued, and these minute
crystals used as the bases of the lar^e su?ar crystals in the
finished massecuite. This method is called "boiling in grain,"
41
and is the one most used.
After about eight hours of hoiling and constant feeding of
magma into the pan, the vessel is full, and the finished massecuite,
as the resulting mixture of molasses and si;ip-ar crystals is oalle4
is dropped out thrcu^rh a ^ipe at the hottom of the pan.
The strike pans at this factory are situated on the third
floor, at the sugar end of the house. They appear in Section S -?
on Plate 4, and are det?-iled on Plate 7. They are cylindrical in
shape, 7;i :h a dome- shaped top and a cone-shaped 'oottom. This
latter arrangement allows ready removal of the thick massecuite
alter boiling is complete. The heating is done by means of ex-
haust steam from the enginesin the power-house. The steam enters
a manifold feeding arrangement, which leads it to spiral coils
laid around the sides of the vessel. These coils are ma.de in
sections so that they may be removed throup-h the man-hole for
repairs. The pan must be equipped with pressure and vacuum gauges
and thermometers, 3S well as several "proof-sticks," These are
ingenious devices which allow for the removal of a small sajuple
juice from, the vessel, without destroying the vacuum within.
The evolved vapors pass out through a large pipe above, which
leads themi throuf-h a si;igar-catcher , previously described, to a
jet condenser of similar design to the one attached to the qua-
druple effect. The massecuite dropped from the vacuxan pan will
contain over 90^ of sugar, and will have a specific gravity of
about 1.5. If 600 tons of beets are sliced, containing 15;= svicrar ,
the pans will have to handle at least 90 tons of sijgar, or -rbcut
100 tons of irasseouite each day. The first and second molasses
42
are treated fcr more sugar, and pass through the vacuum pans
also. The r)ans must therefore h^ made to handle at least 150
tons of massecuite each day. That is, about 136,300 kilos, or
63,200 kilos, for each pan. Since the sp. gravity is about 1.5
the volume of this massecuite will be (68,200-?- 1. 5=) 45,000
liters or 45 cu. meters, which is equal to 1615 cu. ft. If a
strike requires eight hours for i^s boiling, three strikes can
be nade each day. Allowing for stoppage, the daily capacity
will then have to be about ISOO cu. ft. or 600 cu. ft. per strika
Each pan must therefore hold 600 cu. ft. of massecuite. ^ith a
diameter of 12 ft. this massecuite TJrill fill the pan to a depth
of 5 1/2 ft. above the bottom of cylinder. This allows the
volume of the cone-shaped bottom to accommodate the steam coils.
The pans were then shown with an effective height of 12-0"to
allow for violent ebullition and frothing.
The dimensions of the condenser shown in detail on Plate 7
were obtained from the tables in Hausbrand. Each pan drops
22,000 kilos, of massecuite at a strike. It receives this masse-
cuite with an equivalent weight of 7-ater, as in a 50)^ solution.
During eight hours then, 22,000 kilos, of water must be evapo-
rated, or, for safeiy, about 3000 kilos, per hoijir. The conden-
ser, to handle this amount, must be 9 ft . in effective height
and 3 ft . in inside deameter.
The vacuum pumps for the condensers will each have to
handle, (1580 X 30=) 50,400 liters per ]-oi;r, or about 30 cu. ft.
per minute. The Deane Steam Pum^ Co. offer a single horizontal,
rotative vacu.ijm pump, with 6X7 in. steam cylinder and 8X7 in.
43
air cylinder, Trhich displaces 40 cu. ft. at a speed of 100
revolutions ner minute. One of these should he attached to
each vacuum pan condenser.
As to the amount of heat ins; surface required in each pan,
definite figures cannot be (riven, as in the case cf the qua-
druple effect , because of the viscous sirups handled and the
poor circulation obtained. Claassen recommends, for a pan
handling 20 long tons, e.s ours does, a heating surface of about
80 sq. meters or 860 sq. ft.
S e ct i on 7
The Crystallizers:
The "strike" of inasse ouite is dropned tron. the \racuum pans
and falls into a sorev/ conveyor v/hich carries it to any desig-
nated crystalli^.er in one of the tv'o rc^s of six provided. The
function of the orystallizer is to afford a slov/ cooling of the
massecuite and to keep it v;ell stirred during the cooling. This
prevents zhe fcnr.aticn of new crystals of surnr, whic?i would be
so small that they v'culd pass through the "baskets of the cen-
trifugal iKachines. The slow cooling is accomplished "by keeping
the crystallizers warm hy irieans of steain pipes.
The crystr^llizers are large cylindrical tanks of sheet-iron,
equipped., as stated, with a steam jacket. A horizontal shaft
extends through the cylinder at its axis, and has a projecting
fraine^/ork of iron reds, arranged in ? helical form, attached to
it. This helix serves to agitate the cooling massecuite when
the shaft is driven by the worm gear fixed to its outer end. The
massecuite is kept in the crystallizers until it has cooied. to
from 45''to SCC. This may require from 20 to 30 hours. The
strike pans, when running at full capacity, will each drop
1800 cu. ft. of massecuite per 24 hours. If the m.assecuite be
kept in the crystallizers for 30 hours, the la,tter miust be de-
signed to hold 30 hours supply from both pans or (30-^24 X ISOO 12=
4500 cu. ft. If the crystallizers are 8 ft. in diameter and 15 ft
long and are half filled with miassecuite at a charge, there v;ill
J - - .i
45
be (S4 :x 3.1416 X 15-^8=) 37 o cu. ft. of massecu.it e in each,
crystallizer at a time. There vill then be (4500-^-375=) 12
crystalliz ts ne cess.'";ry .
The Centrif\;tgals:
After the nassecuite has been properly cooled to dCC. a.nd
crystallization has beer, promoted in the most favorable manner,
the v:arm miasseouite is dropped from the crystallizers into the
mixing tan]<:s above the centrifugals and under the seoond floor.
The mixing tanks, two in number, are c:.nstruot -d of sheet iron
and are supported on I beams, so that one tank is under each row
of crystallizers. A long shaft extends along the bottor/i of each
tank, and is equipped with prongs v;hidh stir up the masseouite
when the shaft is revolved. By this rr.eans the different classes
of massecuites coming from the stri]fe pans are thoroughly mixed
so that the product sent to the centrifugals is of nearly con-
stant composition. \'?hen especially poor massecuite is beir^
worked up from second, molasses it Kiay be necessary to reserve one
m.ixer for it in order that the ertire sto ik be not contaminated.
Prom, the n.ixing tanks the ffiassecuUte is fed to the individucul cen-
trifugal machines through spouts, which are opened, and closed by
the ms.n in charge of the -^ntrifugal.
A centrifug8.1 is a cylindrical copper vessel whose sides are
perforated by minute slits. This vessel, kno^Ti as the basket, is
suspended by a vertical shaft from a heavy ball bearir^. The shaft
also carries the armiature core a.nd v.^inding of an electric miotor.
4S
Supported beloir the bearirxg sre the stationari^ field coils, which
siArround the armature and thus form a motor direct connected to
the shaft. The centrifue-al basket hangs in a sheet-iron drimi,
v»'hich serves to catch the molasses purged from, the massecuite.
Spouts from the mixir^ tank above feed the massecuite to the cen-
trifugal baskets. The attendant opens and closes the mouth of
the spout to regulate the am.ount dro-ped irto the basket. The
bottom of the basket is closed by a copper plate. In the center
of this plate is an opening throiJgh which the sx;igar crystals are
dropped after being centrifugat ed. This opening is closed by a
t ight-f itt ii-g oovei*" durir;g the working of a charge.
When the basket is filled with the proper amount of masse-
cuite, the m.otor is started and the basket made to revolve at a.
speed of about 1100 rev. per minute. The xi.assecuite is tliro^m
up on the side of the b8.sket , and at this terrific speed, assuines
a xiniform thickness from, top to bottom. The quantity of masse-
cuite used in one charge must be regulated so ths.t the layer of
sugar thrown against the sides of the basket will not be so thick
that the molasses is not v;ell throvm out of it. The centrifugals
in this factory are situated at the sugar end of the sugar house,
on the ground floor. Their arrangem:ent and support is shown more
in detail in Section E — P on Ple.te 4.
When the charge has been well centrifugated it is washed,
first with water, and finally with a dil-ite syrnp. This remioves
spots of broTm clinging molasses. Somie factories use a bluing
solution to v.-ash the sugar, giving it a pure white color. The
m.olasses, throve from: the centrifugal basket, is collected in
47
the surrounding drizm and riins out "beneath, to a conveyor which
carries it t o tanks set in a pit at extreme sugar end of the
building. After the nia chine has been stopped the bottoir; opening
of the basket is uncovered and the sugar shovelled cut into a
conveyor v;hich carries it to the b ot of the sugar elevator. The
la-tter delivers the sugar to a spiral conveyor v-hiclri delivers the
sugar to the sugar store-hcuse.
Twelve centrifugals are shown installed in this factory,
each of which has a diameter of 40 in. If these were all worked
continuously they cculd easily handle 200 tons of massecuite per
24 hours. This is 50 tons irore than the strike pans can turn out.
There viill be ti^es, however, '"7hen especially thick or cold masse-
cuites irust be centrifugated in a hurry, or ~hen several machines
are out of action for cleaning or repairs. Twelve machines Y;ill
there-fore be none to many.
Section 8
Treatirient of the Molasses:
There are several methods in use for the recovery of r.,ore
si;gar fron: the /r,ola.sses which is obtained from the centrifugal
machines. It is frequently the practice, ?'hen the first mola^sses
is of ryvre quality, to send it back to the vacuum pans for a
second concentration. It is then sent throTJgh the crystallizers
and centrifugated, and yields more S'jgs-r. If this second sugar
is well washed and "blued it Ks.y he mixed with the first siigar in
the sugar dryer and not affe ^:. the quality of the T^roduot.
The second mola-sses, obtained from cent rifugat ion of the
first molasses, is too impgire to be treated for rare sugar. Many
patents have been ta.ken out for special treatment of molasses for
the recovery of sugar. None have proven of great profit, however,
and it was not thought wise to show an equipment of 'chat kind in
this feretory. The second molasses is often diluted and, after
defecation, carbonati en , sulphuring and filtraticn, is ccncen-
trated and yields a brown sugar. This brown sijgar is mieltel up
and dissolved, the resulting solution b6ing treated in the usual
way for white sugar. Thus the entire product of the factory is
white granulated s^jgar.
A process is used in Europe, vfhere-by oLe third molasses is
treated with powdered quick-limie, which precipitates the sugar as
sucrate of calcium. This precipitate is filtered off and used
in place of rure limie to defecate the diffusion juices. When
the latter are carbonated the sucrate is decomposed, and the
49
sugar returned to the process. The profit accruing from this
last method is quest ionaTole , and many factories sell their third
molasses for the rranufacture of alcohol. This v.-ill be taken up
in the consideration of the by-products.
Section 9.
Treatment of the Sugar;
The finished sugar is carried hy a spiral conveyor to the
sugar St ore -ho use. Fere it is fed to f long horizcnta.1 drum
heated by steam coils, and kept slovi'ly revolving. The si^par is
thus freed from traces of moisture and the crystals are separated
from each other and prevented from forming lumj-^e. Tl-is sugar-c/ryer
is continuous in its operation, receiving the damp sugar at one
end and delivering the dried granulated sugar at the other. The
sugar is then sent to revclvirg screens, 7vhere ony h^rd lumps
are removed. After the sifting process the sugar is fed to
automatic weighirig and packing machines, whick pack it in sa.cks
of 100 Ihs. and barrels of about 350 lbs. each. These are stored
until a favorable market presents itself for their sale. Al-
though granulated sugar made fromi beets is identical with that
m^ade from suga.r-cane, the v.holesale price of oeet-sugs.r is al-
rp.YS 10 cents per hundred lbs. less than that of cane sugar.
Section 10.
The By-Prcducts:
Chief ejnong tlie Toy-products ohtained in beet-su^ar nianu-
facture are the spent -cossettes. These are deposited in the
flume beneath the diffusion battery. The spent riiaterial con-
tains scn'.e 95/? of v;ater. The cossettes flow to one end of the
flume by virtue of the slope in it. Fere they enter the boot
of a cossette elevator which carries themi to the top floor and
deposits them in a tank. From this tcink an Archiri^edean screw
lifts the cossettes and delivers them to a conveyor which feeds
the cossette presses. The collecting tank has a drain-pipe con-
nected to it, so that the cossettes are weil drained of water.
The cossette presses cons:5st of a sm.all hopper, set with
its bottom on the level of the fourth floor. This feeds the
cossettes to a heavy boiler-plated cylinder, which contains an
inverted cone within it. The upper part of the cone, being
narrow, leaves a large space, which is filled up by the wet
cossettes. At the lower end of the cylinder, however, the cone
is nearly as large in diameter as the cylinder, so that the open
spa,ce between the two is only an inch or two. The cone is
firmily fixed upon a vertical shaft which is driven by bevel
gearing above. The cuter surface of the cone has numierous
projections set askev: upon its surface. These formi a sort of
open screv; and force the cossettes lower and lower in the machine.
The cossettes are thus forced into an ever contracting space
52
a,nd subjected to an enormous pressure. Both the cone and
the cylinder are perforated and the exuded Tracer flovi/'s oirt into
a surrounding jacket , from which it is drained off.
The pressed material is dropped out of the bottoir. of the
machine and falls into a conveyor which takes it to a spout that
feeds it onto a heap outside the building. The pressed cossettes
are buried in silos in the open air, and keep for several several
months without serious decomposition. They have about lAjt solid
matter and 86%- ^ater, and are said to be a,s valuable for cattle
food as the original beets were. The presses require about 2 1/2
horse-power each, to drive them, and can handle from 75 to 100
tons of cossettes per 24 hours. There v/ill seldom be nore than
500 tons of cossettes produced per day, so that five presses will
be sufficient.
Besides the spent cossettes there will be filter press-cake
and molasses as by-products. The press-cake ^na;,- be ^Tsed as fer-
tilizer, but in m.any localities no market can be found for it.
The molasses are frequently mixed v/ith the pressed cossettes to
inprove their value as a cattle food. In most oases, hoxvever , it
is sold to distilleries t o be used in the mianufacture of rum or
alcohol.
« 1 /i > ,-)
Bibliography.
Beet Sugar Gazette. Current numbers.
Church, Ed'/vard The Sx;igar Seet . Agriculture and Extraction.
Claassen, H. Beet Sugar Manufacture.
Parmers ' Bulletin No. 52. The Sugar Beet. Raising and
Extraction, 1901.
Poster, James Treatise on Evaporation by Multiple System.
Hausbre-nd, E. Evaporatir^, Condensing and Cooling ApparS.tus.
Lock & Kev/lands Bros. Handbook of Sugar.
Mcintosh, John G. The Technology of Sugar.
Mechanical Engineer. February 1905. Multiple effect Evaporator.
Morse Calculations m,ade in Ca^ne Sugar Eactories.
Myrick, Herbert. The America,n Sugar Industry.
Peffer, E. S. Beet Sugar Analysis.
Progress of Beet S'jigar Industry in U. S. in 1900 4 *
)
II II II II II II V II II ]_901 )
)
« I. It II If II fi H II 1902 ) Government
) Reports.
It II II II II II II II II 1903 )
)
II ti II II n II II 11 It 1904 )
Spencer, G. L. Handbook for Sugar Manufacturers a.nd fheir Chemista
Taylor, Jas. W. Sugar Machinery
The Sugar Beet Current numbers.
Ware, Lewis S. Beet Sugar Manufacture and Refining.
Weichmarin P. G. Sugar Analysis.
rtX ^
» 1
II »i i»
« MM
EST ITvTATED^ gpSTg.;.
Suga,r Kcuse.
^.T,. ___->__» -|150,000
Building ""- -^ '^QQ
Beet v/heelb-
Beet washer tr nnn
Diffusion Toattery in ono
Carbcnating tanks ______ -^^.^^
Sulphuring tanks « nnn
8 Eilter presses ax 1000 «,0""
14 Bag filters at 300 nq'noo
12 Centrifugals at 1500 i^nno
Piraps, juice, vacuum and water ■■-- ■';^>q^q
Gas pujnp -" 25*000
Quadruple effet ------------- i"^^ nnn
12 Crystallizers at 1250 - -; 15,000
Granulat or-----------"'"""'"" ^' ^qq
Weie-hing machine --------------- ^'nnn
Beet slicers and aocessories n^'onn
2 Vacui.. pans at 8000- - - "„ V .■/'"/,' "^.>:^-:.r ""^'^^^
Motors aggregating 540 E.P.- '* - ' '■ '.■,,^, j, ,,
at f-20.0'0 per K W for large sizes and-^/-/= -f ->-
at 130.00 Hmall " 11,000
Piping (including lahor) --- ou,uuu
""3347400"
Totals.
.„. $334,400
Su^ar house - - " 100 000
Storage shed- --------- 5 000
Lime kiln complete- -----^------- nc'nnct
Machine shop Bldg . and Mchy. ^-- ^^'qqq
Warehouse ---""""""""'""'"'^ "^/ooo
Offices ---------------"""" a^^'nnn
Por;er plant ccm.plete 1000 H. P. 65,000
Track and v-'a^on scales- ----------- n'nnn
Site 5 acres' at fSOO.OO 1,""^
Total investment in Bldgs. and Mchy.- ----■' 5477^00"
Beets in storage, 20 days supply-. "--^-—--Z-
on the average, 12,000 tons at ? 5 . OO-7'' -#-#-^-
;!.^5,000 for 110 days or for year.- - -,---- ^^.-^
Suiar in v/arehouse 700 tons at ;U,0.00 -#-#^^-
1 63, 000 for 110 days or for one year - -1^,^^^
Interest hearir^ investment- - - - -f585,200
<
-X -iO
Running Ex;oenses Per year.
Cost of beets at |'4.50 ver ton for ~^^-:/f---^~M_ji_
12 1/2,'^^ "beets and t5.40 per ton for 15--"- 'W/-
loeets average ^*5.o6 per ton .|5.00 X 500 X 110= .f 330, 000
Labor for treating beets at :-:1.51 per ton - -- 99,630
Repairs at 32 cts. per ten .32 X 600 X 110= -- 21,120
Su^oplies per ten of beets at VOcts. ver ton —
.70 X 600 X 110 --_ __-_>_ 4 5,200
Interest at S^^t and depreciation at 7^'=12,€ - -- 70,224
Sinkirxg fmd 7;f -__ _' 4 5,800
Total expenses for year ----- — f 514 , 004
IITCOTiCE.
Assurce 12 1/^5 of" weight of beets is recovered as swrar or
7 5 tons per day (75 X 110=) 8250 tens per year (110 days campaign)
Incone 8250 X |90,00*- ^742, 500
Pressed ccssettes .at fl.OO per ton-^f-f^--^-^'-^-^'--
(ass^jume 45;^ of vi^eight of beets).^-4'-f-#-#-#-#-^-
(.45 X 600 X 110=) 29,700 tons 29,700
Mola-ses at ?2.oo per ton-^'- ''- ''-^--- ''-^-'^-t"-''—
(assuar.e 2fc of weirht of beets)-^-^-''-^'-^-=^-^-^^~f-
(.02 X 600 X 110») 1320 tens- ---- - - 2 , 540
Income f774,840
Less expenses 614 , 004
lilet Profits tloO,336
Emnloyer's Liability and Pire Insurance 3 ,000
1,^157,835'
26.9^ on invest ir.ent .
Average of costs at 13 Mic?iiga.n factories according to
Bulletin ITo. 72, tf. S. Dept . of Agriculture.
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Wa^or? f^nfrance.
- /iOU5E.
jOO-O 0.toaofWa//Sr
i^a^o/7 On/aatf/fjf "'
----- 5B-^L^!^^S^^ - -~ -
foiivca House.
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PLATE I
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of /^em forced Concrete.
r/un/Bs tobe'3^o"Oeop at Ex/f from 5 forage
House and f-O'Ueep of Farffier £'nd, f^aM'/ng
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1
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OFT/i/LS OFSE^ET STOmOF fiOU3f:
ron
600 TO/y Sf:£T-5U6/lfi F/iCTO/^r '
sccr/es d>', £ ill'^d^ = 1^0 ' /ipnV J, my.
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n/of Shomny Mil/s of Lime /^Mr
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600 To/y 3rrT-3Uo/in r/ICTOm
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3co/e ^'/-a:
rL/!n OF 66 /r/CH-M Oell-60 HEcrouTcn.
/tna OETr/ri6.
600 Ton BF£T-6U6/i^ r/ioroFY
, ^c,.,^^*-, 'l-O' y^prUJ,/90y.
iratvn ByJii^.^J^C(Lc£dnf. PLAlL V
Draw/f S/i-
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QU/JD/=(UFL£ EFFECT £i//IF0mT0fl
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/Ipnl l,/907.
^ PLATE in
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/ln/^/i/yG£ncr/yr _
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11
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ron
600 ToiM BEET-suG/in r/ioTonr.
3/DE £LEv/tr/on or V/icuum F/in
^ netju/red for n/cror/.
Sca/es -ifl'/'O
Df^/iyyrf oy-'luJ^
PLATE 3Z[